1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dolls and, in particular, to a support system and flexible integument that provide a natural feel, natural range of motion, and natural appearance in dolls and stuffed animals.
2. Statement of the Problem
In the past, many attempts have been made to construct dolls and stuffed animals that are as realistic and natural as possible in both their appearance and ability to assume true-to-life positions and have their limbs moved through the same range of motion that is available to living creatures. For example, one type of doll or toy animal in the prior art, the "action figure," is generally made wholly of a substantially stiff plastic. In this type of figure, the figure is not cast as a whole, but various portions of the figure such as the lower limbs, the upper limbs, the feet, the body, and the head are first manufactured separately, and then connected together to form the entire figure. The connection points form the joints of the limbs, and the limbs are thus enabled to move and assume various positions.
In most of these action figures, therefore, the joints are highly visible on the surface of the limbs, which is unattractive and unrealistic. Furthermore, many of the joints, such as the shoulder and hip joints, do not provide a fully natural range of motion. In a human being, for example, the arm can both rotate through a 360-degree circle around the shoulder and through a 180-degree arc from a position along the side of the body to a position extending directly out from the shoulder parallel to the ground and finally to a position in which the arm is raised above the head. In the action figure dolls, in contrast, the arms usually are attached to the body in such a manner that they can only perform a 360-degree rotation about the joint, and are incapable of being raised away from the body.
In addition to the lack of a full range of motion for its limbs, the action figure has an entirely unnatural feel when handled. Rather than the somewhat soft and yielding feel of a living being's body, the action figure is hard and unyielding.
In order to provide a doll or toy animal with a more natural feel, dolls and toy animals have been made entirely of fabric stuffed with batting or other substances. These dolls and toy animals, often called "rag dolls" or "bean bag dolls" or "stuffed animals," do provide a somewhat more realistic feeling when held or touched. A disadvantage that arises when the entire doll or toy animal is made of fabric is the ability of the limbs of the dolls or toy animals to be moved into both natural and unnatural positions. Sometimes such dolls or toy animals are sewn into a single, fairly stiff position that cannot be changed. At other times, the limbs are floppy, lacking support, so that these dolls or toy animals cannot be posed for any period of time in a particular position.
A need exists to provide dolls and stuffed animals with a more natural feel, appearance, and movements than presently exist in conventional dolls and stuffed animals.